Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson’s exhibition Mercy presents a wide-ranging examination of repetition, ritual, beauty and cultural identity, bringing together works that span years of artistic production while reflecting changing political and social moods.

The exhibition showcases Kjartansson’s distinctive approach to performance-based video art, a practice that frequently draws on music, literature, theater and visual culture. Across the works on display, recurring themes include family relationships, the passage of time, collective memory and the tension between optimism and uncertainty in contemporary society.

Among the central works featured is Me and My Mother, an ongoing project that documents a repeated performance involving Kjartansson and his mother, actress Guðrún Ásmundsdóttir. In each iteration, Ásmundsdóttir spits repeatedly at her son while he faces the camera. The work, revisited over many years, has evolved in meaning as both artist and participant have aged.

What initially appeared as a deliberately confrontational gesture has increasingly been interpreted through the lens of family bonds, endurance and generational change. The repeated enactment of the same act over time has transformed the project into a record of ageing and commitment, highlighting the persistence of personal relationships through changing circumstances.

Repetition functions as a defining feature throughout Kjartansson’s artistic practice. His works often involve the prolonged performance of songs, phrases, gestures or actions, creating experiences that unfold gradually and invite reflection on duration and attention. By extending simple actions over extended periods, the artist seeks to reveal emotional and psychological dimensions that may otherwise remain unnoticed.

The exhibition also reflects the broad range of influences that have shaped Kjartansson’s work. References to painting, cinema, theater and politics are embedded throughout the presentation. Particular attention is given to literary influences, including the work of Russian playwright and author Anton Chekhov, whose exploration of human longing, disappointment and everyday life has informed aspects of Kjartansson’s artistic outlook.

Several works reveal how broader political and cultural developments have influenced the artist’s perspective over time. Earlier pieces are associated with a period of relative optimism that coincided with the presidency of former U.S. President . According to the exhibition narrative, these works emerged during a period when expectations for political and social progress appeared comparatively strong.

More recent projects adopt a more restrained tone, reflecting concerns about social fragmentation, political polarization and cultural uniformity. This shift is particularly evident in Scenes from Western Culture, a work composed of a sequence of carefully observed everyday moments. The scenes include a couple dining in an upscale restaurant, a woman swimming laps in a private pool and children playing in a garden.

Rather than focusing on dramatic events, the work examines ordinary experiences associated with affluence and stability. The images depict lives marked by comfort and security, yet the absence of significant action encourages viewers to consider questions surrounding meaning, routine and satisfaction in contemporary consumer societies.

Kjartansson has linked aspects of the work to his observations about globalization and the increasing similarity of cultural experiences across different countries. Reflecting on international travel, the artist noted that many destinations appeared remarkably alike, with comparable retail outlets, food offerings and popular music regardless of geographic location.

His comments point to a broader debate about the effects of economic integration and digital connectivity on local identity. While globalization has expanded access to products, services and cultural content, critics have argued that it has also contributed to the standardization of urban environments and consumer experiences. Kjartansson’s observations place his work within this wider discussion about cultural convergence in the twenty-first century.

The exhibition concludes with No Tomorrow, a large-scale work featuring eight dancers performing across a largely empty and highly polished stage. The minimalist setting directs attention to movement, rhythm and spatial relationships rather than narrative development.

According to Kjartansson, rehearsals for the work began during the first presidency of U.S. President . The artist has described the piece as an exploration of beauty and emptiness, emphasizing aesthetic experience rather than explicit political commentary.

The work also reflects ideas associated with American painter , whom Kjartansson cited while discussing the role of beauty in artistic creation. Drawing on Martin’s thinking, he suggested that art can function either as a celebration of beauty present in the world or as a response to its absence.

The exhibition’s title, Mercy, similarly operates on multiple levels. Kjartansson has associated the term with both compassion and violence, highlighting what he sees as the coexistence of grace and conflict in human experience. He has also pointed to the word’s religious associations, noting its connection to traditions of faith, symbolism and ritual.

These themes are reinforced through the structure of many of the works on display. The repeated singing of lyrics, cyclical movements and sustained performances often resemble ceremonial practices. While rooted in contemporary art, the works borrow elements commonly associated with religious observance, including repetition, devotion and collective participation.

By revisiting actions over extended periods and across different contexts, Kjartansson’s work examines how meaning can emerge through persistence rather than novelty. The exhibition presents a body of work that connects personal experience with broader questions about culture, politics, memory and identity, while exploring how repetition can transform ordinary gestures into enduring artistic statements.

The contemporary art exhibition, one of the world’s most influential cultural events, has been overshadowed by geopolitical tensions linked to ongoing conflicts and international human rights disputes, triggering demonstrations outside national pavilions and deep divisions within the global art community.

Organizers said visitors attending the exhibition at Venice’s Giardini and Arsenale venues would instead vote for their preferred national pavilion and featured participant in the central exhibition, titled “In Minor Keys,” replacing the traditional jury-selected awards system.

The jury said its resignation was tied specifically to the participation of countries currently facing investigations by the International Criminal Court over alleged human rights abuses. Critics of the move argued that the decision was selective and politically inconsistent, with some artists and activists saying the United States should also have been scrutinized under similar standards.

British-Indian sculptor and artist Anish Kapoor criticized what he described as “the politics of hate and war,” reflecting broader tensions that have increasingly influenced major international cultural institutions.The Biennale’s main exhibition, “In Minor Keys,” had already been shaped by tragedy before its opening following the death in 2025 of curator Koyo Kouoh, whose vision for the event centered on themes of memory, identity and political fracture.

This year’s exhibition features participation from around 100 national pavilions, including several countries using the platform to address war, migration, colonialism and displacement through large-scale installations and multimedia works.

The controversy surrounding Israel’s and Russia’s inclusion reflects wider cultural disputes that have intensified across Europe and North America since the outbreak of wars in Ukraine and Gaza, where artists, museums and festivals have increasingly faced pressure over institutional partnerships, state representation and political neutrality.

Organizers said the audience-voted awards would be announced on the exhibition’s closing day on Nov. 22.

A major new collaborative exhibition across regional galleries in Britain is bringing long-overdue attention to women artists whose contributions have often been overlooked in traditional museum collections dominated by male names.

Titled Making Her Mark, the project brings together works by some of the country’s most celebrated female artists, including Tracey Emin, Barbara Hepworth, Laura Knight, Elizabeth Forbes, and Gillian Ayres.

The initiative is being shared between Penlee House Gallery & Museum, galleries in Worcester, and Kirkcaldy, creating a rare regional partnership focused entirely on correcting historical imbalance in artistic representation.

For many smaller galleries across the UK, collections have traditionally reflected centuries of inequality in the art world, where male painters and sculptors were more likely to receive commissions, institutional support, and lasting recognition.

As a result, many museum walls still tell a largely male story.At Penlee House Gallery & Museum in Penzance, that reality is especially visible. Known for its strong representation of the Newlyn School and Cornish art history, much of its permanent collection features male artists whose work shaped the region’s artistic identity.

But from this week, visitors entering the gallery will be greeted by something strikingly different.Displayed prominently above a marble fireplace is a bold and emotionally charged work by Tracey Emin, challenging viewers with the raw personal intensity that has made her one of Britain’s most discussed contemporary artists.

In a nearby room hangs a vibrant work by Barbara Hepworth, whose abstract forms and modernist vision helped define 20th-century British art.Together, the works create a conversation across generations from early pioneers to contemporary voices highlighting not only artistic excellence but also the barriers women faced in gaining recognition.

The exhibition also features pieces by Laura Knight, one of the first women elected to full membership of the Royal Academy, and Elizabeth Forbes, often considered one of the leading figures of the Newlyn School despite being historically overshadowed by her male contemporaries.

Textile artist Imogen Bright Moon also contributes to the exhibition, with contemporary tapestry work that adds another dimension to the project’s exploration of female creativity and artistic identity.Curators say the goal is not simply to celebrate famous names, but to encourage visitors to reconsider how art history itself has been written.

For decades, women artists were frequently treated as exceptions rather than central figures. Their work was often categorized as secondary, domestic, or decorative rather than serious fine art. Even highly accomplished artists found themselves remembered mainly in relation to male partners, schools, or movements.Projects like Making Her Mark seek to shift that narrative.

Rather than presenting women artists as a special category separate from the mainstream, the exhibition argues that they have always been central to British art they were simply not always given equal visibility.This rebalancing is especially significant in regional galleries, where local collections shape public understanding of cultural history.

By placing women’s work at the centre of these spaces, the exhibition challenges long-standing assumptions about whose stories deserve prominence.It also reflects a wider movement across museums and cultural institutions to reassess collections, acquisitions, and curatorial practices through a more inclusive lens.

Across Britain and beyond, galleries are increasingly revisiting archives, reattributing forgotten works, and acquiring art by women and other historically underrepresented groups. The process is not only about fairness but also about revealing a fuller and more accurate picture of artistic history.

At Penlee House, the presence of a contemporary Tracey Emin alongside earlier artists such as Barbara Hepworth and Elizabeth Forbes shows how the conversation spans centuries rather than belonging to a single era.It also reminds visitors that progress remains unfinished.

Despite major advances, women artists still face unequal representation in exhibitions, collections, auction prices, and critical attention. Recognition has improved, but parity remains distant.That is why curators describe Making Her Mark not as a conclusion, but as part of a continuing discussion.

The title itself suggests both artistic creation and historical correction women making their mark on canvas, sculpture, and textiles, while also finally making their mark in the institutions that preserve cultural memory.

For visitors walking through the galleries, the exhibition offers something more than visual pleasure. It invites reflection on absence whose work was missing, whose voices were muted, and how different the walls of museums might look if history had been written differently.

By bringing these artists together, Making Her Mark offers a small but powerful act of restoration.It suggests that the question is no longer whether women belong at the centre of British art history, but why it took so long for the walls to show it.